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CDC’s Leadership in Detecting, Preventing, and Controlling Cancer
With fiscal year 2004 funding of approximately $413.5 million ($313.8
million for cancer prevention and control activities and $99.7 million to
address smoking and health issues), CDC provides national leadership for
preventing cancer and promoting its early detection. CDC works with its
partners—including state and territorial health agencies, other federal
agencies, voluntary and professional organizations, academia, and
businesses— to carry out the following activities:
Monitoring
CDC provides funding and technical assistance to help states, territorial
health agencies, and tribal organizations collect data on cancer incidence
and deaths, cancer-related risk factors, and the use of cancer screening
tests. These groups use the data to identify and track cancer trends,
strengthen cancer prevention and control activities, and prioritize the use
of resources.
Conducting Research and Evaluation
CDC conducts and supports studies to improve understanding of the factors
that increase a person’s risk for cancer and to identify prevention
opportunities. CDC also evaluates the feasibility and effectiveness of
cancer prevention and control strategies. Results from these studies are
used to plan and improve activities to prevent and control cancer.
Building Capacity and Partnerships
CDC works with many partners to translate research into public health
programs, practices, and services. To ensure that these innovations reach
the people who most need them, CDC helps state, territorial, and
tribal-serving health agencies build the capacity to apply scientific
advances and to develop strong cancer control programs. CDC also works with
states to collect data to identify appropriate prevention, early detection,
and treatment measures; respond to community concerns; and evaluate
programs.
Education and Training
CDC develops communications campaigns and educational materials on cancer
prevention for both health professionals and the public. CDC also helps its
partners strengthen their education and training programs on cancers that
respond to prevention and treatment.
CDC’s Cancer Programs
CDC takes a comprehensive, broad-based approach to preventing and
controlling cancer, as the following programs and initiatives demonstrate.
The National Comprehensive Cancer Control Program (NCCCP)
integrates and coordinates efforts to reduce cancer’s effects by monitoring
cancer cases, developing policies to promote cancer prevention and control,
developing cancer education programs, establishing intervention programs
that target populations at high risk, supporting screening and education
services, and evaluating programs. With fiscal year 2003 funding, CDC
supported 51 comprehensive cancer control programs in 45 states, the
District of Columbia, and 5 tribes and tribal organizations. The funds were
used to establish cancer coalitions, provide epidemiologic support for
cancer control efforts, and develop and carry out comprehensive cancer
control plans.
The National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP)
has provided over 4 million breast and cervical cancer screening and
diagnostic tests to almost 1.75 million low-income women over the past
decade. The program also supports education and outreach activities, case
management services, and research to increase screening rates. CDC supports
early detection programs in all 50 states, 4 U.S. territories, the District
of Columbia, and 13 American Indian/Alaska Native organizations.
The National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR) collects data on
the occurrence of cancer; the type, extent, and location of the cancer; and
the type of treatment. CDC supports cancer registries in 45 states, the
District of Columbia, and 3 territories. The NPCR and the National Cancer
Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program recently
published U.S. cancer statistics that include data on about 84% of cancers
diagnosed in 2000 and state-specific cancer data from 41 states, 6
metropolitan areas, and the District of Columbia.
Through colorectal cancer prevention and control initiatives, CDC
and its partners are promoting colorectal cancer screening nationwide by
supporting education and research programs, including studies to determine
barriers to colorectal cancer screening. The Screen for Life campaign
addresses common myths about colorectal cancer screening and educates
Americans that screening saves lives by finding precancerous polyps and
detecting cancer early. A Call to Action educates primary care
providers about the prevention and early detection of colorectal cancer and
offers Web-based tools that providers can use to help patients select cancer
screening options.
Through prostate cancer control initiatives, CDC provides the
public, physicians, and policy makers with the information they need to make
informed decisions about the potential risks and benefits of prostate cancer
screening. CDC materials include two versions of Prostate Cancer
Screening: A Decision Guide, one for all men who are considering
prostate cancer screening and the other specifically for African American
men. CDC has also developed a slide presentation, Screening for Prostate
Cancer: Sharing the Decision, that gives primary care physicians
information about the potential benefits and risks of screening.
Through the skin cancer primary prevention and education initiative,
CDC supports skin cancer monitoring, research, education, and interventions.
CDC recently published the Guidelines for School Programs to Prevent Skin
Cancer to spread the word about strategies that have reduced skin cancer
risks among students aged 5–18. CDC is working with state and local
education agencies and other partners to put these strategies into practice
in Colorado, Michigan, and North Carolina schools.
Through its ovarian cancer control initiative, CDC is working with
academic and medical institutions and advocacy groups to identify factors
related to the early detection and treatment of ovarian cancer, about which
little is known. In addition, three cancer registry programs receive NPCR
funds to evaluate care and outcomes for patients with ovarian cancer.
Through its Tobacco Control Program, CDC provides national
leadership for comprehensive efforts to reduce tobacco use through state and
community interventions, countermarketing, policy development, surveillance,
and evaluation. CDC supports tobacco prevention and control efforts in all
50 states, 7 U.S. territories, 7 tribal-serving organizations, 8 national
networks, and the District of Columbia.
Future Directions
To continue to improve its efforts to reduce the health and economic
burden of cancer, CDC will focus on conducting research to determine how
best to implement cancer prevention and control programs; providing state
programs with ongoing technical assistance and training; evaluating
comprehensive cancer control programs; and expanding the number of states,
territories, and tribes funded for these programs. CDC is also developing a
public health action plan to identify issues related to surviving cancer and
public health strategies that will provide support for cancer survivors.
State Programs in Action
Since 1970, the rates of death due to bladder cancer have
increased among white adults in Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire.
To address this problem, the state health departments in these three
states, with support from the National Program of Cancer Registries,
collaborated with Dartmouth Medical School, the National Institutes
of Health, and the U.S. Geological Survey on a case-control study of
approximately 1,200 adult residents of these states aged 30–79 with
confirmed bladder cancer and an equal number without a history of
bladder cancer. A rapid data collection procedure was developed to
ask residents about various lifestyle, occupational, and
environmental factors such as their diets, past jobs and residences,
and medical histories. Data from this study will be used to estimate
the extent to which these factors explain the increases in bladder
cancer cases and related deaths among residents of Maine, Vermont,
and New Hampshire. Determining the importance of these potential
risks will help to guide the development of public health
intervention and education programs to help residents lower their
risk for bladder cancer. |
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